ScreamPrompt #39, September 2013

Alright, it's come to this... and no, I don't care that school just started, either.

THE "RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES" PROMPT

No, this does not mean I am out of ideas.  That actually doesn't happen to me.  Like, ever.  If you want to know the secret how to be an endless font of ideas, note me at my personal page.  Then be ready for disappointment at the answer.

Anyway, yeah -- this is where you all get to do some research and I throw a little twist in there to bug the crap out of you because that's what I do to force you out of your comfort zone.  To be fair, I threw a lot of softballs this summer.  

get on with it, creep.

So for those who don't know what a headline is, there used to be these things called newspapers that are printed on the corpses of trees that feature shitty-ass articles about what jerks did to unfortunate humans and are made available for assholes to read and feel schadenfreude.  

You're going to pick a headline.
It can be from a real newspaper or the internet.
Any newspaper, any news website, any year.  
I mean it, any.  News-related.  That means the Onion, yes.  Why not.
Historical fiction is encouraged and applauded.

DIFFICULTIES and DETAILS

 The headline should be focused on the first initial in your deviantART screenname.  Theme, event, a person, a country, noun/concept, etc.  If you're not sure, note me here in the comments and we'll work it out.

wut are you stupid or something wtf does that mean

examples:  

My screenname starts with the letter R.  I can do something current like with what Putin is doing in Russia with his ridiculous choice to imprison those who are LGBT individuals/sympathizers during the Olympics next year.  I can also get in the Wayback Machine and go on the front lines during Roe Vs Wade.  How about some Teddy Roosevelt fan-fiction?  I'll allow it.  Make it work.

why are you doing this to me

To ruin your life by making you a better writer who thinks about what they're doing.  duh

 The story has to be about someone who is personally affected by the headline, like their life would change in a measurable way by the headline, like they'd make a headline of their own because of it.

 You have until October 30th** to finish this.  Why?  Because there's some serious research involved and possible soul-searching as well.  These things take time and this is a heavy prompt.  Don't forget to write in your artist's comments what the headline is.  A link back is optional but I'm trusting you to not lie to me.  Be honorable.

Word count is a minimum of 2500.  Any POV.  Link back to this prompt in your comments, too.

** Will there be an October prompt?  lol yes.

you're looney tunes for this prompt!  what do I do if I can't think of something?  

No worries, even with my busy schedule, I will come up with one for you.  Of course, it will serve you better to come up with your own because I'll give you something at random with your screenname letter (so you won't be personally invested -- which may or may not be a good thing) AND I'll tack on an extra 1000 words to the word count.

You know how I do.

Any and all questions, death threats, hate mail and first-born children should be sent in the comments here or noted to me here or at my personal page.  Anyone who finishes this prompt will be a personal hero of mine for a year.  For real, this is some crazy stuff but it's also why you joined this group.


Always keep this in mind when submitting any prompt from here on out:  screamprompts.deviantart.com/j…